I have six kids, and I take them fishing with me. I want high quality gear, but I am afraid of the kids breaking it. Do you th

[Charley]

I have six kids, and I take them fishing with me. I want high quality gear, but I am afraid of the kids breaking it. Do you think I should get the higher quality gear, or stick with the gear that won't break my wallet to replace when the kids break it?

[usmcturkey]

If you buy Ugly Sticks and they break you can return them for new ones. Ugly Sticks have a lifetime guarantee.

[dwaynez]

I would recommend going the economical route and upgrading as the kids grow a little older and more experienced. That is the way I was brought up, I got hand me downs from my dad or my uncles and then learned to appreciate it and really understand how to use different equipment.

Once this was established it meant a whole lot more to me when I recieved a rod and reel and when I purchsed my own equipment I remembered the lessons I learned as a child.

It's your call, but with 6 kids I would go the economical route for now and make sure they really are going to stick with fishing and they will grow into their own skill level and you can make equipment upgrades from there.

[dwaynez]

I would recommend going the economical route and upgrading as the kids grow a little older and more experienced. That is the way I was brought up, I got hand me downs from my dad or my uncles and then learned to appreciate it and really understand how to use different equipment.

Once this was established it meant a whole lot more to me when I recieved a rod and reel and when I purchsed my own equipment I remembered the lessons I learned as a child.

It's your call, but with 6 kids I would go the economical route for now and make sure they really are going to stick with fishing and they will grow into their own skill level and you can make equipment upgrades from there.

[dwaynez]

I would recommend that you go the economical route and as the kids become more skilled and older then you can upgrade the tackle.

This is the way I was raised, I recieved hand me downs from my dad and my uncles until i really learned the equipment and understood what it took to maintain and keep the equipment in good working order

As the kids develop their skills and really take to the sport then you can upgrade the tackle.

[tygardner]

as a sixteen year old my fishing rods have been through everything and they are all ugly sticks it defiantly the way to go its a great rod too great sensitivity and strength and if you want to you can throw a pretty good reel on there with it if you dont like the reek it comes with

[Alex Pernice the fly rod winner]

Buy an ugly stick, there a good compromise between price and durability.

[T]

If you trust the older and more mature ones, buy them some good gear but don't overload. For the younger, more kiddish ones, make sure they're having fun. If they would rather have a Spiderman reel instead of high priced one, I'd say let them. You don't want them to hate fishing at a young age, because then it will be hard to get them back into it.

[Del in KS]

It's hard to beat the old tried and true Zebco spin cast rod and reel. Cheap, easy to use and wears well.

[mattreney]

im only 14 id let the kids pick their own rods as long as you can trust them they dont necesaraly want an expensive rod. let the use what ever their comfortable with when their older and more experienced let them get the more expensice rods so you know their going to stick with it and not abuse the gear

[Jim in Mo]

I'd use Ugly Sticks and Zebco. Btw my US's I use on the river carry a 7 year warranty.

[summit229]

I agree with the less expensive route as in zebco or ugly stick. But as far as the spongebob/ disney character fishing set-ups, get your kids a disney character lunch box if they want it, but do yourself and your kids a favor and stay far away from the disney character type fishing set-ups. They are very poor quality and will almost certainly set you and your kids up for a frustrating experience.

[kjflorian]

First of all, wow six kids, when do you find time to fish...

Stick with the lower end stuff, kids tend to be pretty reckless with things, you don't just want to throw money away.

[Christian Emter]

Go cheap when they are young then when they get older and they want to take up fishing splurge a little more.

[jbonifer24]

You can't go wrong with Ugly Sticks. They are extremely durable and yet sensitive enough for catching smaller fish such as crappie. Kids will almost always lay a pole down and step on it, and if you get cheao rods your just going to have to keep buying cheap rods because their gonna break. Get a couple of the 5'3" Ugly Stick combos for about $20-$30 dollars each and oyu won't be disapointed. By the way thanks for keeping fishing alive with your kids!